Should Oregon Host the Olympic Games?

Do the Rose City and the Beaver State have what it takes to host the Olympics? Do we even want the Games in the first place?

As the XXIII Olympiad gets underway in Pyeongchang, South Korea, we'll consider past Olympic successes and failures and draw lessons for Oregon. Does hosting the Olympics promise economic growth? How will a massive international event affect daily life in Portland? What infrastructure and facilities improves will come with the Games? Can the Games be a force for equitable, long-term investment in our communities?

From housing and infrastructure to civic culture and athletics, the conversation is bound to raise many complex issues.

Panelists

Professor Jules Boykoff is the author of three books on the Olympic Games, most recently Power Games: A Political History of the Olympics (Verso 2016). His writing on politics and sports has been published in the New York Times, the Guardian, Street Roots, and the Los Angeles Times. He played soccer at the University of Portland for legendary coach Clive Charles, represented the US Olympic Soccer Team in international competition, and had a four-year professional soccer career that included time with the Portland Pride. He currently teaches political science at Pacific University in Oregon.

Damian Smith is the founder and managing partner of Pepper Foster Consulting and the organizer of Oregon2028, an effort to bring the Summer Olympics to Oregon. Over the last 25 years, Damian has launched, turned around, and led a host of highly successful product and services businesses, and consulted with some of the largest and most influential organizations around the globe. His proudest professional achievement though is leading two different firms (Hitachi Consulting and Slalom Consulting) to be recognized as the best company to work for in Oregon, while simultaneously increasing the revenues and profits of both. It’s a feat he plans to repeat with Pepper Foster Consulting. When Damian isn’t making a difference with Pepper Foster Consulting, you can find him writing fiction (his first novel Tuesday’s Child was published in 2016); watching Project Runway with his amazing and wonderful daughter Avery; cheering on the Portland Timbers at Providence Park (RCTID); or running (very slowly) from Hood to Coast.

Mariel Zagunis is a 4-time Olympian and 4-time Olympic medalist, winning individual Gold medals for saber fencing for Team USA in Athens (2004) and Beijing (2008) and team Bronze medals in Beijing (2008) and Rio de Janeiro (2016). Her Gold medal in Athens marked the first time in 100 years that a U.S. fencer took home the top prize. She has also won 14 medals in World Championship competition.

Born in Portland and a resident of Beaverton, Mariel began fencing at age 10 and is now the most decorated fencer in the history of USA Fencing. In 2012, she served as the Opening Ceremony flag bearer for the U.S. delegation and in 2013 she was inducted into International Fencing Federation Hall of Fame.

Vin Lananna currently serves as president of TrackTown USA and Associate Athletic Director for Olympic Development at the University of Oregon in the city of Eugene. In December, he became the President of USATF by acclamation. He was also named head coach of the U.S. men’s track and field team for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, where Team USA brought home a record number of medals.

One of the world’s foremost visionaries in the sport of track and field, Lananna has had a long
and storied career that has seen unprecedented success as a coach, administrator, organizer
and leader.

Lananna, a native of New York, has served on multiple coaching staffs for Team USA at the
global level. He has also been the driving force behind a TrackTown USA revival at historic
Hayward Field ever since his arrival at the University of Oregon in the summer of 2005.

Over the past decade, Lananna has helped redefine the U.S. Olympic Trials experience for both
fans and athletes; built Oregon into one of the most dominant track and field programs in the
country; and ushered in a new era of broadcast coverage for the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field
Championships with a new competition format. He is also the driving force behind the creation
of the TrackTown Summer Series, which provides top American track and field athletes with fun
and innovative competitive opportunities on U.S. soil.

He welcomed the International Association of Athletics Federations, the world governing body
for track and field, to this country by hosting the highly acclaimed IAAF World Junior
Championships in the summer of 2014, the 2016 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Portland
this past March, and for the first time in history, the 2021 IAAF World Championships.

Not content to simply host events, Lananna has worked tirelessly to grow the sport of track and
field in this country by creating a supportive environment for elite athletic performances,
promoting community health and fitness initiatives, engaging youth with numerous learning
and competitive opportunities, and establishing leading practices in hosting sustainable
sporting events.

Moderator

Leonard Bergstein is the founder and president of Northwest Strategies and a founding board member of the Oregon Sports Authority. He got his start in Oregon public affairs when he moved from New York in 1972 to work for Multnomah County Legal Aid, running the Legislative Action Center to inform and organize clients on landlord-tenant and consumer protection issues. Focusing next on electoral politics, Len ran Betty Roberts' historic race for Governor in 1973/74 and then went on to serve as the campaign manager, legislative assistant, and political affairs advisor to Governor Bob Straub. In 1978, Len was administrative assistant to Portland Mayor Neil Goldschmidt and in 1979 was a special assistant on the Washington D.C. staff of U.S. Secretary of Transportation Neil Goldschmidt. 

In 1981, Len returned to Oregon to start what has become one of Oregon's leading public affairs consulting firms—Northwest Strategies.

Len has long been involved with efforts to make Oregon a premier destination for amateur athletic contests, world-class spectator events, and major sports franchises. Twenty-five years ago, he helped start the Oregon Sports Authority, a nonprofit organization dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for Oregonians by using Oregon's matchless physical assets and sports culture to attract more than 200 key sports events, totaling more than $300 million in economic impact to our region.

Len is a graduate of Wesleyan University (Middletown, Connecticut) and NYU Law School. While attending NYU Law School, Len enjoyed teaching at a public middle school and a private residential treatment center near New York City. In our state, Len is a long-time member of City Club and has supplemented his professional schedule with service on numerous boards, commissions, and community service organizations. Len is also the Political Analyst for KGW TV.